Browsing: Topic/practice (all)

A commission has thrown out a worker's out-of-time challenge of her employer's refusal to exempt her from a COVID-19 vaccination directive. She claimed she couldn't have a vaccine because of her religious beliefs against abortion and other issues.

Flexible working arrangements that genuinely support health and wellbeing are being offered to the employees of one of Australia's "best places to work" on the terms that most suit them, instead of under a blanket rule, according to the company's director.

Personal protective equipment poses "hidden" psychological risks for workers, and the COVID-19 pandemic has provided an invaluable opportunity to properly examine these hazards, Australian researchers say.

Workplaces constantly change and evolve and employers have been reminded, for World Day for Safety and Health at Work today, of the importance of adapting their WHS processes. The event is also being used to highlight the way COVID-19 has exposed weak safety standards.

• Work-related COVID restrictions softened in another state; and
  
• How to prevent "technostress" and other hybrid work hazards.

PCBUs currently grappling with their WHS duties around COVID-19 vaccinations could have another vaccine to assess, with Safe Work Australia recommending a vaccination regime for workers at risk of contracting Japanese encephalitis virus.

A new industry safety standard developed in response to a teenage worker's death, which also attracted one of the highest WHS fines in NSW history, includes guidance on preventing unapproved modifications of scaffolding and will prevent injuries and fatalities, the NSW Government has claimed.

With hand washing still considered a key measure to stop the spread of COVID-19 in workplaces, a timely study has highlighted the importance of skin surveillance, using hand cream and having access to good quality hand care products at work.

• Step up safety with increasing demands, say regulators;
  
• Employers urged to utilise WHS tool for young workers; and
  
• Waivers don't reduce WHS duties to children.

An organisation that implemented new administrative and engineering controls, in response to two workers contracting a deadly lung disease, improved health outcomes in just two years, health and safety researchers have found.